Faced with the possibility of his playing time dwindling further
this season, UCLA reserve guard Ryan Walcott announced Thursday
that he intends to transfer to Grand Canyon University, a Division
II school in his hometown of Phoenix, Ariz.
Walcott, who will be a part-time student at Grand Canyon this
year and then compete for the Antelopes in 2005-06, likely would
have been the third-string point guard for the Bruins this
season.
Last season’s starter, senior Cedric Bozeman, and heralded
freshman Jordan Farmar are expected to contend for the starting
position.
“Ryan now wants to return home and play at Grand Canyon,
where I know he feels he can be a major contributor,” UCLA
coach Ben Howland said. “We wish him the best.”
A key contributor off the bench as a sophomore, Walcott saw his
role diminish drastically under Howland.
He considered leaving UCLA in the middle of the season last
year, but decided against it at the time, even though he felt the
coaching staff had lost confidence in him.
Though he did remain at UCLA, Walcott was well aware that he was
likely to see his minutes cut even further as a senior.
Consequently, when the opportunity to return to Phoenix and play
in front of his family presented itself, Walcott apparently jumped
on it.
“This is nothing against the Bruin program,” said
Walcott, who returns to Arizona each summer to train with his
cousin, Sacramento Kings point guard Mike Bibby.
“It’s just better for me to be at home. It will be
nice to be playing in front of my family here in
Phoenix.”
Walcott, who started nine games as a sophomore and averaged 21.5
minutes per game, played just 8.5 minutes per game last year and
averaged a career-low 1.1 points.
He was often the target of Howland’s wrath in practice,
and remained on the bench in close games even when Bozeman appeared
to be on the brink of exhaustion.
Under former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, Walcott was somewhat of a
fan-favorite because of his intensity and emotion.
The highlight of his career with the Bruins came in his freshman
year, when he sealed UCLA’s victory over top-seeded
Cincinnati with a pair of free throws in the second round of the
NCAA Tournament.